Tag Archives: record

The last time January was so wet Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards was about to fly the flag for Great Britain in the ski jump at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, in 1988.

There was occasional respite from the persistent rain

Some 130.6mm of rain (251% of average) fell in January, beating the previous record set in 1988 by just 2.8mm around midnight on Saturday 1st. Unlike 1988, last month followed a December that was 154% wetter than average. The wet spell, which started on December 13th, is only now making a real impact on the river Roding which is now running very high.

January was also warmer than average with a mean temperature of 6.4C (1.5C above the 30-year average) – ranking it 20th in the series since 1881 – and the warmest January since 2008. Though the month was very mild no single day was particularly mild. Highest maximum was 12.7C on the 7th.

The most notable day was probably Saturday 25th when what started as a bright, fine day quickly changed around 4pm as a strong squall with heavy rain blew through with associated thunder and lightning and 6C fall in temperature in an hour. Wanstead escaped the damage of elsewhere. Numerous trees blocked rail lines in Kent and gusts of over 60mph were widely reported.

There were two other incidents of thunder and lightning on 5th and 6th – very unusual in the middle of winter and an average normally observed in high summer.

Air frosts: 5 : coldest night of winter so far was observed on morning of 12th with -2.9C

weather station feed

Clouds and cloudscapes

Looking north toward Aldersbrook. The Flats, a 186 hectare open space that is a larger than Hyde Park, can be very exposed during a thunderstorm

20/05/2017

01/05/2017 crepsular rays

Summer overlooking The Temple in Wanstead Park

10/05/2017 pink cirrus

Taken on 11/11/2017 at 1600 as a cold front cleared I managed to capture the remnants of a Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud

Rooster cloud

26/08/2017 sundogs

The view across to St Paul’s from Bankside at low tide.

5/5/2017 rotation

Autumn overlooking The Temple in Wanstead Park

15/06/2017 doll cloud

Convective clouds build over Wanstead Flats

24/04/2017 altocumulus

6/7/2017 sun and cirrus

Sunsets

Typical April days of sunshine and showers were in short supply. There were some stunning sunsets, including this one on the 30th

With the sun lower in the sky at this time of year there’s often a great opportunity for a decent sunset

Sunset on Wanstead Flats

sunset overlooking Wanstead Flats 2nd August

Sunset Southwark Bridge

I took this yesterday evening. Windless, still and humid at ground level it was fascinating to look skyward and see the multi-level cloud continue to build into strange shapes, illuminated from below by the setting sun. A wonderful weekend for cloudspotting.

A stunning example of sunlight illuminating the underside of cloud at sunset was seen mid-month

Sunset on 31st looking across Wanstead Flats. July was a classic summer month for weather

It was a month with some amazing sunsets. This one, on April 30th, happened just as the sky cleared before dusk

Satellite images

Ophelia

Both the 2013 storm, left, and the 1987 storm followed a similar track as shown on these satellite pictures

On 25th a perfect curl could be seen on a depression centred off the west coast of Irleland. The rain associated with this low pressure brought the month’s highest daily rainfall total: 23.4mm (the system bringing 27.5mm) – a thoroughly miserable Bank Holiday Monday where it rained ALL day, from 6am until 9.30pm. It was yet another example of how much even frontal rainfall can vary over a small area.

This satellite picture taken on December 27th, 2014, shows the LP clearing through to leave us in clear, deep cold air